Story:The End of Eternity
THE END OF ETERNITY I • II • III • IV • V • VI • VII • VIII • IX X • XI • XII • XIII • XIV • XV • XVI • XVII • XVIII • XIX "I want to see how the world ends. And I want to see it with you." ---- The End of EternitySempiternity is Studio ENUO's first completed novel. Archived here for future reference. An indeterminable amount of time into the future, humanity is the only living species that still lives on the planet Earth. An unexplainable disaster known as the Collapse decimated everything that called the Earth its home, and the human race just barely managed to survive. Now it exists as an empty shell of what it once was, prospering in name only and perpetuating its place on the planet with machines, nanotechnology, and total government control. Human society of the past is continued, but forgotten. A boy who has looked around him and saw only abysmal hopelessness reaches into the void of tomorrow, and he stumbles upon the extraordinary power of the gods. Does humanity deserve to be reborn, or is it forever doomed to sin? Can a heart blackened by evolution and timeless agony learn to love? Only by answering these questions will the Thousand Eternal Salvation succeed - or it will be an Annihilation. The End of EternitySempiternity is released as two feature-length films: Death (jp: ), which covers Chapters 1-9, and and Rebirth (jp: ), which covers Chapters 10 - Chapter 19 and the Epilogue. Characters Arend= {The boy who stumbles upon forever.} "You know something of eternity, don't you?" Arend Vitalis - A completely empty, cynical, and self-deprecating young man who has aged far beyond his years. Having experienced what he describes as a long and completely pointless life, he finds absolutely no purpose in living and struggles through every moment with passive despair and philosophical curiosity. He is not aggressive or revolutionary in his nihilism, and also lacks the resolve to change anything in his life. Having given up completely on all life, he does not even have a shred of ambition, hopes, dreams, or regrets. He is incredible and remarkable because of how far he pushes his antisocialism - if anything, he is a dynamic icon for the most dark of human emotions. Upon finding Klaytaza, the key towards either destroying all of the world or preserving it, he finds himself the only person in the world who uses a Key's power to end all of existence. For the first time, he finds himself calmly and unshakably reaching towards a billion deaths with unshakable anticipation. Besides his "professional" beggar parents and his little sister, Arend has absolutely no family to speak of. He rarely stays at home, and instead wanders the futuristic unnamed city with no goal. Attends school every day, but only because he has nothing better to do, and he likes the view in one of his classes. Becomes the contract host for Vizrupaksa (whom he renames 'Klaytaza'), Key #1/999. It is clear that Klaytaza begins to affect him emotionally, which he embraces at times and dismisses at others. Struggles to understand how Klaytaza can be anything other than human despite the emotions he sees her portray. |-| Klaytaza= {The key, shackled by all of humanity.} "The eradication of existence will be realized by our own hands." Klaytaza, #1/999 - The only living(?) thing that is more empty and void than Arend, she is an artificial life form that was created at the dawn of time. As one of the Thousand Keys to Eternity (although there are only 999 of them), she is the original shinra being and the most powerful one. Unlike the other 999 Keys, she has decided to act solely for the one who would orchestrate apocalypse instead of rebirth after witnessing all of humanity's twisted history. She feels all of existence is a soulless burden and is truly nothing more than the doll of the earth that waits endlessly for everything to disappear. After resonating with Vitalis and his empty philosophies, she vows to act in his power and use her abilities to fight against all other keys in order to collapse the world onto itself and destroy any chance of rebirth. As one of the Keys to Eternity, she appears and acts human, but is not. She feels little to no emotion and can change her body to any weapon that is required of her, held down only by her wielder's imagination and will. Arend's most favored weapon takes the form of a weight-y, golden pen that turns into a giant, double-sided longsword. She begins to attend Arend's school after the two of them make a contract, and her beautiful appearance draws a bit more attention than he would like. |-| Natalia= {The epitome of passive human ignorance - and its timeless love.} "I've never seen anyone like you before." Natalia Monomus - A classmate of Arend's who gifts him a weighty pen that does not write and a love that does not follow logic. She is, by all means, a precursor of the post-Collapse world, in that she has no ambitions or dreams whatsoever. As a sheep in the endless cycle of the world, she has no purpose and no individuality to herself. Upon meeting Arend, she sees a glimpse of what could be if the world were different, or back when it was. Stunned by his passion for hatred and unknowing in the face of such nihilism, she has no choice but to be intrigued by him and fall in love with him. Some things were simply meant to be. |-| Bestim= {The imaginary angel of anonymity.} "A link disconnected from the chain creates its own chain, and a clock broken is correct indefinitely." Bestim Shicksal - The antithesis of Arend and the leader of all the other 999 Keys to Eternity. As a pawn of the ancient machinations behind the keys, Bestim truly believes all things can improve when the human heart is saturated with trust, love, and time... or perhaps that is simply what the Creator makes him believe. Mysterious, powerful, and almost eccentrically wise, Bestim finds Arend's aspirations to be foolish, impossible, and weak. But this is not to say he doesn't agree with some of Arend's philosophy, nor can it be said that he completely rejects them. In fact, he and Arend may be more connected than it first appears, and the two may be more intimate with each other's struggles than any would know. Themes *''Wandering Dead Citadels - originally Nostromo *''Versus the Final Keys - originally We Who Have Cast Ourselves Aside Become Fallen Angels *''Bestim's Arrival - originally Astragalous Earthly Backgammon *''Versus Bestim - originally Missing Link *''Ending/Epilogue - originally Heisoku no Kakudai